


When You Smile

by lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)



Series: Uni AU [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Lilo friendship, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Zoo, but what else is new, kind of, liam thinks zayn’s beautiful, owl attack?, owls because why not, the boys are studying to be vets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 20:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_writes/pseuds/lightswoodmagic
Summary: Liam shifted his body slightly to get more comfortable, angling towards Zayn just in time to see Zayn duck his head down, his hands still outstretched, the shirt covering his bare skin. He could see the curl of his lips from where he was sitting, the beginnings of a smile, and he bolted upright; it was finally happening. Liam was finally going to get to see Zayn Malik smile.Death in an aviary. Louis would approve.Or, Liam’s never seen Zayn smile during classes, but a trip to the zoo for their studies helps him see a lot more.





	When You Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo this fic completely changed about three times as I was writing it haha but I really hope you like it! I missed writing Ziam.
> 
> The biggest thank you goes to the light of my damn life (and doesn’t he know it) Canaan, who sat with me brainstorming exactly how to write it and googled ‘can you touch baby owls’ on the work computer. I 100% wouldn’t have written this without him. 
> 
> A massive thank you as always to Caroline for her unending support, and my amazing group chats that encourage me to write and be my best self. Xx

Liam stifled a yawn, slamming his car door closed and shoving the keys into his pocket. It was way too early to be here, regardless of how excited he was, and he grabbed his coffee from where he’d delicately placed it on the top of the car. He hummed as he took a sip, the warmth flowing through him to settle in his stomach as he hitched his bag up and dragged himself over to the front gate. He could see Niall bouncing on his toes near the entrance, talking animatedly with his hands as Louis sighed so heavily that Liam swore he heard it from across the car park. 

“- don’t know what to tell you, Louis.” Liam could hear Niall’s voice as he moved closer. “How can you not be excited that we’re at the  _ zoo _ ?”

Liam weaved through the small crowd of fellow students at the gate, smiling politely at the few that greeted him. He wrapped an arm around Louis’ shoulders and pulled him in for a cuddle. “Because he ‘gets to see animals all the time, Niall’,” Liam mimicked, laughing as Louis muffled a curse into his chest, “because ‘we’re all studying to be vets Niall, why would I get excited over animals?’” Liam continued, pulling back from Louis and meeting his slight scowl with a wide smile. “That’s you, by the way. That’s exactly what you sound like,” Liam said solemnly, regardless of the fact that Louis definitely  _ didn’t  _ sound like that. 

“Oh do fuck off, Payno,” Louis hit back easily, running his hand through his fringe to settle it back down. Liam watched with a small grin on his face as he took another sip of coffee and Niall wandered off to talk to someone else. “Don’t pretend you’re going to be paying attention to any of the animals anyway.”

Liam scoffed, draining the rest of his coffee and throwing the cup in the recycling bin. “I want to  _ work _ at a zoo, Lou,” Liam said, smirking when he realised it rhymed, “of course I’ll pay attention. You’re a right menace.” He turned to his left when he noticed three of their lecturers arriving, cutting off his next story about how he wanted to see the turtles, and suddenly they were being herded through the gate. They all shuffled forward through the iron doorway, chatting and... _ mooing _ apparently (“Niall, kindly shut the fuck up.” “I’m just adding to the atmosphere, Tommo.”) until they emerged on the other side, and the grin on Liam’s face made his eyes crinkle. 

Liam had loved the zoo since he was a little boy, forcing his family to visit the park as often as possible, running to see the giant turtles and tiny penguins and terrifying snakes. He could easily remember the first time he’d seen someone in the enclosure, someone helping one of the lions who’d fallen ill. He’d decided then and there, at 8 years old, that he was going to be a vet, and he’d worked his arse off to get here. Nothing could distract him from his end game, to be able to work at this place, surrounded by lush greenery and gorgeous animals and happy people. Well, almost nothing.

“C’mon mate, I thought you were supposed to be listening,” Louis teased, darting forward to tweak Liam’s nipple through his shirt. He squeaked, batting at Louis’ hand as it came back again. “I’m off to the lemurs first.”

Liam stopped still, looking around to realise everyone was slowly dispersing. “Oh. Where am I off to?”

“The birds,” Louis shuddered. “Unlucky bastard.”

Liam sighed, but squared his shoulders. He didn’t  _ love _ birds, but he didn’t hate them like Louis did. “Who am I there with?” Louis’ grin was wicked, and Liam swallowed harshly. Please no, god anyone but him, please please  _ please - _

“Malik.”

Oh  _ no. _

As if the mere mention of his name made him suddenly appear, Liam looked across the small patch of lawn just as some of his classmates shifted to the side, and his eyes locked on Zayn Malik. He was stunningly attractive; sharp cheekbones, soft black hair, and sleeves rolled up to show off his tattoos, pushing his glasses up his nose as he rummaged through his bag. Liam knew he was wickedly smart too, the best in their class, and Louis teased him relentlessly about his... _ crush _ , although Louis called it more of an obsession. However after all their classes together, all the times he’d seen Zayn around campus, he’d never once seen him smile. He wasn’t cold or angry, just seemed to keep to himself, and Liam was half grateful; he didn’t think he’d survive otherwise. 

Liam groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and running his fingers through his hair. “I’ve never spoken to him. I’m gonna make a right tit of myself Tommo.”

Louis made a small sound of protest. “You know, Haz says he’s a really lovely guy,” Louis said nonchalantly, ignoring Liam’s incredulous look. “Apparently him and Malik are quite close, and you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“So,” Liam said slowly, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “not only have you been talking about me to your boyfriend, but Harry’s known Zayn this whole time and probably could’ve introduced us so I didn’t have to pine for a whole year?”

Louis seemed to think for a moment. “Yes, on both accounts.” 

Liam opened his mouth to reply, to scold Louis for keeping something so important from him, when there was a small sound behind him. Liam spun around and stopped short.

“Hi, Liam yeah?” Zayn asked, seemingly cool and collected while Liam melted from the inside out.

“Yeah, yeah that’s me,” he managed to reply, holding his hand out to shake Zayn’s. “I hear we’re off to the birds?” 

“Yeah man, if you’re ready we can go now,” Zayn rushed out, and Liam managed to catch the sight of Zayn’s tongue seeming to press against the back of his teeth. Liam knew he was staring, knew he was being slightly creepy, but it wasn’t until Zayn shifted that he pulled himself out of it, waved goodbye to Louis, and wandered with Zayn towards the aviary. 

They walked in silence through the twisting paths, but it was comfortable, and it wasn’t until they reached the large enclosure that Zayn spoke.

“Uh so apparently someone named Phil is going to meet us here and show us around, but he’s running a bit late so,” Zayn shrugged, pushing open the door and heading inside. Liam followed, smiling softly as the noise of the birds grew louder until suddenly they were only surrounded by trees and the hoot of what sounded like an owl. Liam gently put his bag down, hardly noticing as Zayn did the same, and carefully wandered towards the feeble sound. When he saw the source of the noise, he gasped and dropped to his knees.

It was a little baby owl, all fluffy feathers and wide eyes, sitting on the ground and making a noise that Liam could only describe as crying. He let his eyes run over the trees above him, smiling when he saw the nest between some branches. He reached out to pick the baby owl up and return it home, but a sudden tight grip on his bicep made him pull up short. He whirled around to look at Zayn, but the soft expression on his face made his pulse slow back down. 

“You shouldn’t touch a chick with your bare hands, just in case,” Zayn said quietly, and Liam purposefully avoided his eyes as he took off his flannel shirt. He chastised himself; it wasn’t like Zayn was shirtless, for God’s sake. He watched as Zayn reached out, tattooed hands tightly gripping onto the shirt when suddenly the chick hissed at him, and Liam fell back in surprise. 

“For something that’s a literal ball of fluff, it is  _ not _ friendly,” Liam murmured. Zayn merely hummed in agreement. 

“It’s just fallen from its nest, and I don’t know where the mother is,” Zayn explained, keeping a sharp eye on the owl as it curiously hopped closer. Liam realised he was staring again when Zayn raised an eyebrow before turning to look at him, and he flushed as he looked away. “I’m surprised, they don’t normally do this. It might just be used to people? I dunno man.” 

Liam shifted his body slightly to get more comfortable, angling towards Zayn just in time to see Zayn duck his head down, his hands still outstretched, the shirt covering his bare skin. He could see the curl of his lips from where he was sitting, the beginnings of a smile, and he bolted upright; it was finally happening. Liam was finally going to get to see Zayn Malik smile. 

Death in an aviary. Louis would approve. 

Just as the chick hopped closer, there was a loud screech from behind them, and Liam’s heart sank as Zayn’s mouth dropped open in surprise, any chance of a smile ruined.

“Uh Liam? I think the mum’s back,” Zayn said, slight panic seeping through his voice and. Oh. That’s definitely worse. 

They both jumped up, careful of the small fluffy ball on the floor, just in time to duck again with a yell as the owl swooped down over them. They took off at a slight run, navigating paths and routes until they reached a small ‘Staff Only’ door. Liam yanked the door open just as the owl came back again, pushed Zayn inside and then jumped in, tripping over a small step at the doorframe and slamming Zayn into the wall behind him. 

Liam held his breath, his elbows braced on either side of Zayn’s head as the other man’s hands came up to steady him at his waist. They stared at each other, neither of them daring to move, when suddenly another screech cut through the air, Liam snorted, Zayn let out a giggle, and there it was.

Zayn was  _ smiling,  _ two inches from Liam’s face, and Liam knew he sounded slightly crazy when he realised it was everything he’d hoped for. 

It was cautious but infectious, his tongue pressed against his teeth again, and the set of his mouth lit up his entire face, his eyes filled with amusement as his fingers gripped tightly onto Liam’s shirt. He was stunning when he was brooding and quiet and untouchable, but he was  _ beautiful _ here, caged in Liam’s arms, open and laughing and  _ smiling _ at him after they’d almost been killed by a murderous owl. Liam couldn’t look away from Zayn’s mouth, was one second away from dropping his hand to cup Zayn’s face when a confused voice shouted for them in the aviary. Liam ripped himself away, cursing Phil and his  _ useless _ timing, but Zayn’s small grin made it worth it.

As they worked away in the aviary, eventually moving to the different animals and enclosures, Liam soaked up as much of Zayn’s company as he could. He learnt that Zayn had wanted to be a vet from the moment someone had saved his dog’s life when he was 12. He listened intently as Zayn told him about his family and how hard it was to be away from them. He traded barbs with him when they talked about music, and he ignored him for five minutes when Zayn said his favourite animal from Harry Potter was Fluffy when it should obviously be Buckbeak. He got to witness Zayn becoming more comfortable with him until they were touching almost constantly and Liam’s name was dragged out of Zayn’s mouth and changed to  _ Leeyum _ .

But that wasn’t all; Liam learned all about Zayn’s smiles during the day as they rotated through the zoo.

The beaming grin when the lemur wrapped its tail around his forearm. The shy smile when Liam took a photo of him covered in butterflies. The smirk when he pressed up against Liam inside the reptile house. The over the top, fake smile he gave when he put someone in their place who treated them like children. 

Liam’s favourite though was the soft smile at the end of the day that Zayn shot him when he cheek still tingled from the kiss he’d pressed there.

“I’ll call you, yeah?” Zayn asked, and then he smiled at him again, and Liam was done for.

“Please do,” he managed to get out, and then with one last wave and a quick grin, Zayn was gone. 

Liam stood in the paved parking lot, grinning at nothing in particular, when Louis decided to make his return known by jumping on his back.

“So, finally got Malik’s number huh? Haz’ll be so proud,” Louis sniffed, pretending to choke back tears as he wrapped his limbs around Liam, but Liam couldn’t bring himself to care. 

He’d finally managed to get a date with Zayn Malik. 

Maybe Harry would be proud. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated if you feel like it. 
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](https://lightwoodsmagic.tumblr.com/) and have a chat if you like! :) there’s also a fic post [here](https://lightwoodsmagic.tumblr.com/post/186003640422/when-you-smile-by-lightswoodmagic-ga-2k-part-2)that I’d love if you wanted to reblog 💕
> 
> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "fluffy". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fluffy), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).
> 
> Thank you! Xx


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